The present invention relates to split engines, that is, multiple cylinder engines which are operated under varying load conditions with combustion occurring in different multiples of cylinders. More specifically, the present invention relates to a fuel injected engine where specific injectors are deactivated to permit the engine to run on less than all of its cylinders.
Numerous prior art patents show the state of the art of split multiple cylinder engines. My previous patent applications relate to a variety of such engines and are listed as follows:
__________________________________________________________________________ Serial No. Filed Title __________________________________________________________________________ 503,718 September 6, 1974 APPARATUS FOR MODIFYING AN now Pat. No. 4,019,479 INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE 629,178 November 5, 1975 SPLIT ENGINE VACUUM CONTROL now Pat. No. 4,076,003 FUEL METERING SYSTEM 630,383 November 10, 1975 MODIFICATION FOR SELECTIVELY now Pat. No. 4,070,994 OPERATING A FRACTION OF MULTIPLE ROTORS OF A ROTARY ENGINE __________________________________________________________________________
A satisfactory adaptation of split engine technology has not been made in regard to fuel injected engines. Specifically, the flexibility which can be provided by inhibiting individual injectors, particularly where the injectors are electrically activated, has not been appreciated in the prior art. For this reason, the prior art uniformly shows a modification of engines to require that the engine operate in specific modes depending, in most circumstances, on the vacuum within the intake manifold. These systems also uniformly show the use of all or half of the cylinders of the engine for operation. As a consequence, while the split engine concept is advantageous with regard to fuel economy and power production, split engine systems have not taken maximum advantage of the concept. Thus, for example, such engines have not included additional multiple cylinder modes of operation, nor have they provided convenient controls for a driver so that manual override of the automatic system is permitted or manual control of certain engine modes provided.